karaspeak

Yes, Aiden and Teagan have had grandparents for their short little lives. Yes, there has always been such a thing as "Grandparent's Day." Yes, we love our grandparents up in this house. And yes, our grandparents live super close so we get to see them quite frequently. But sadly, no, we have not ever had the chance to truly celebrate Grandparents Day with our beloved grandparents. This year we changed that habit.

GCA has a creative program including all the grades from Pre-K to 10th (as high as it goes right now) doing various performances, songs, drama scenes, etc. and we were able to attend with our very own Mimi. We greatly missed her other half, Paaa, but Mimi being there meant the world to all of us...and I think to her too.

After the program and a short time in Aiden's class, we were able to have a fun-filled rest of the day with all the things we love when Mimi is here - Panera (of course), playing outside, riding bikes, going to the park, drawing with chalk, naps! Besides baking, we did pretty much all of what we love to do with our Mimi. It was so fitting. It was so special. It was so fun to honor her. It was so memorable to simply "be" with her. It was also heart-heavy because in just a few short days, we know Mimi is moving to Florida and being this close to do all this fun won't be happening nearly as frequently.

So this Grandparents Day was a first and also a last. The first time we were able to celebrate, and the last weekend we were able to spend with our Mimi being close enough for us to see her at a moment's notice. It's the end of a chapter, but a beginning of a new one and we were able to kick it off with a fantabulous celebration and memory-filled few days of GQT (good quality time) - I have pictures all over my brain and heart, embedded for life, of this past weekend. I will choose to remember the happiness, the smiles, the fun, the silliness, the beauty, the joy, the love. The love. The LOVE. Love conquers all. Even a flight to Florida.

Today was my little man's first day of Kindergarten. It left me wondering many things...how did I get here? when did my baby boy become a 5 year old? what am I going to do with this new set of rules? 

It also made me take time to reflect on my own first day of school and realize how similar Aiden and I are, as well as how much of his dad he has in him. 

Excited for school - Me
Excited to meet new friends - Me
Wants to be the cutest one there - Me and Daddy
Can't wait to learn - ME!
Read the second most books in all of the elementary (yes, at 4 years old!) - ALL ME!
Fear of being made fun of - Daddy
Wanting to know all of the details - Me and Daddy
Desire to know what is coming next - Daddy

There is a laundry list of other things that come along with this and a first of any kind. But it was such a joy to see that he was excited about this next step and was ready to embrace it full force. I've prayed and worried about this step for a while - mostly because he was going to be the youngest in his class...he's nearly a full year younger than some kids...but mostly because I want to make sure I equip him for success in every way I can.

I guess what I learned after sending him off to his first day was that a) I can't control everything, and b) he will never truly be ready (in my own eyes...). How truly this equates to our own lives we try and live (and control)...a) we are not in control and b) we cannot handle it. But we have a great Father who takes the reigns from us and ensures we CAN handle it.

The fear I have every day I drop him off is mighty, but I have to give that over and realize I can't control him, nor can I keep him from experiencing the hard situations, the potential hurt, the potential friend drama, and all the things that come with life and make us who we are - make us aware of who God is and that He has our back. A solid reminder that Aiden is just lent to me for a short time we spend here on earth. Ultimately, all of him belongs to all of Him. And no matter what, his path is determined. 

So here we go on the wild ride of education. Not sure I'm ready for this, but over the moon my little dude is! 

There are times in life you never want to forget and times in life you wish you'd never remember. I've had my fair share of both in my short 33 years on this earth and today witnessed one of my kids having a moment they might not want to forget but likely will as at four years old I'm not sure how many truly lasting memories you take with you along the journey of life. The awesome part for him is that in today's world we have every type of video and picture memory available in case your brain chooses to forget. Pretty remarkable. But regardless, it was a day for the books.

My baby turned two. My sweet baby girl who should still need me like a baby needs her mama turned two. She is not a baby. She's two. Where the past two years went, I'll never know, I only know the years seem to go by faster and faster. Before I know it, I'm sure I'll just be blinking as the years fly past. Teagan Elyse is my precious little girl, full of spunk, laughter, light, crazy curls, funny stories, and so many other things. She is polar opposite of her brother in a few regards - her LOVE for sleep, her curly hair, her non-picky-ness about food, her girly sense of style, and her cute little freckles on her cheeks and nose. Most of these things are just like me.  Some others, remind me so much of Aiden - her independence, her zest for life, her wit, her drama, and her sass. Regardless, she is 100% unique and I am so blessed by her sweet, crazy nature every day.

We celebrated on a rainy Saturday with an Elmo party covered up in pink, red, and orange. We had food, we had friends, and we had fun! Cupcakes, hummus and veggies, cookies, and an assortment of snacks to celebrate my little Elmo girl. We even got she and Aiden matching Elmo outfits to celebrate...the girl was thrilled with her polka dot Elmo. She was showered with toys, covered in cake, and enamored with all of her fans.

Such a fun day full of memories and a few tears of joy. I'm so proud of all she can do at just TWO! I can't describe how much fun she is and how sweet the relationship is between she and her brother. I couldn't have asked for more when God gave me sweet Teagan. A few pics from the show...

What a fast year it's been, but my "BABY" boy is now three! What a fun time we had at his party. I wanted to do a real party this year because I felt like this was the first year he really understood what people were doing when they brought gifts and came over to celebrate...it was all going to be for him! And I wanted him to feel really special.

So for Aiden's birthday this year, we had thoughts of doing a Super theme...after being inspired by a Hostess with the Mostess blog about this A-mazing party which was also for a three year old. Even though all the parties she features are fabulous, this one just caught my eye as something Aiden would really love to get into. So we did our own version of this party on a budget, of course, as only we know how! Needless to say it was both fun to plan and fun to throw and I think all the kiddos had a blast! We had kids from Aiden's class, kids from the neighborhood, and family all there to help us celebrate in style and I think it was a hit! I had my brother create an awesome invitation.

After that went out we had a good amount of buzz about our party and everyone was pretty excited including me. I ordered capes for our family...they turned out so cute, thanks to the ladies at Pip and Bean...they helped me out with my particular requests and last minute changes. The capes turned out awesome. I also ordered capes from Sew Plain Jane to give away as party favors. We added an initial to each cape and created a "kit" full of stars, hearts, and other super treats for them to decorate their cape either at the party or when they got home. Our thing with parties for Aiden is to always have a bounce house of some kind, so this year we got a huge water slide for the kids which ended up being really fun! We even provided towels for the mess! We had all kinds of snacks and super treats for the kids and set up a candy bar for everyone to take home some sweet treats. To top it off we sang to the Super Boy of honor and dove into the cupcakes with homemade toppers...which turned out great! We were lucky enough to have sweet Lillian come and take pictures of the party for us, and since she does all of our family pictures, it made it extra special for her to see this fun and loving party time! Enjoy the pictures!

All in all it was a super fun party and I can't wait to dream up one for Baby Girl in another six months! Should be fun.  I think Aiden felt really THREE and really SUPER!